The 2017 property assessment notices will be mailed to property owners from the County on September 5, 2017. Any parcels that had a change made to them (other than one caused by the application of the township factor) will be published in the Northwest Herald on September 6, 2017.

If you do not receive your notice you can call my office to get those figures. We do not have copies of the notice but we can give you your 2017 assessment and resulting market value.

The 2017 McHenry Township Equalization Factor will be 1.0700. This is only the second time since 2008 that we have received a positive factor. The equalization factor is determined by the Illinois Department of Revenue based on a three year Sales Ratio Study which analyzes the arm’s length sales that have occurred in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and compares them with the previous year’s assessment.

The data used to determine the 2017 equalization factor indicates that the assessments in McHenry Township must be increased by 7% over the 2016 assessments due to market data provided from the State. What this means is that assessments were too low compared to where actual sale prices are and an adjustment was needed. This is done by applying the township factor (1.0700) to every property to ideally bring it closer to the current market value.

If your assessment increased more than the township factor, it is most likely due to one of the following reasons: 1) a subdivision revaluation 2) a new addition to the property or 3) discovery of something there that was not previously assessed.

If you believe that the 2017 fair cash value (market value) of your property is too high compared to sales of similar properties, you may appeal the assessment. Additionally, if you feel your property is not assessed in the same manner as similar properties in your neighborhood, you can appeal the assessment based on equity.

We are here to assist you. We want to make sure you get the answers you are looking for and a proper explanation of your assessment questions.